00Z model run on time, 18 balloon reports flagged
Model status
NWS is producing the 00Z model run on schedule. Forecast model output should reach forecasters, apps and websites at the usual times.
“00Z” is the run’s start time in UTC. NWS runs its main models four times a day — 00Z, 06Z, 12Z and 18Z — and each run begins by digesting a global snapshot of current conditions taken at that hour.
129 weather balloon launches were available to feed this run (11 in Alaska, 27 in Canada, 60 in Lower 48, 14 in Mexico, 7 in Caribbean, 10 in Pacific). “Stations available for ingest” means balloon soundings that arrived in time to be folded into the model’s starting picture of the atmosphere. Twice a day, sites across North America release balloons that measure temperature, humidity, pressure and wind all the way up. More stations reporting means a better-anchored starting point.
Balloon reports UPDATED 00Z GFS RAOB RECAP...
Twice a day, NWS and partner agencies release weather balloons that carry a radiosonde — a small instrument package that radios back temperature, humidity, pressure and wind as it climbs. Those soundings are one of the main ingredients in a forecast model’s starting conditions. This section is the roll call of stations that had a problem for the 00Z run of the GFS.
18 stations were flagged: 8 sent no usable sounding at all, 8 reported a numeric status code, 1 had a balloon burst early, 1 was missing part of the transmission, 1 had bad data removed by quality control. A handful of gaps is normal and is not by itself a sign of a forecast problem — the models are built to work with an incomplete picture.
| Station | Where | What happened | As printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| YAK 70361 | Yakutat, AK | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. | No report for the NAM...Full report in for the GFS |
| SYA 70414 | Shemya AFB, AK | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. | No report for the NAM...Full report in for the GFS |
| JAX 72206 | Jacksonville/Intl, FL | No weather balloon data from this station reached the model for this cycle — either no launch happened or the data did not arrive in time. | No report |
| VEF 72388 | Las Vegas, NV | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. unrecognised status code 10159 | No report for the NAM...10159 |
| OAK 72493 | Oakland/Metrop. Oakland Intl, CA | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. | No report for the NAM...Full report in for the GFS |
| BUF 72528 | Buffalo/Greater Buffalo Intl, NY | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. | No report for the NAM...Full report in for the GFS |
| GRB 72645 | Green Bay/A.-Straubel, WI | No weather balloon data from this station reached the model for this cycle — either no launch happened or the data did not arrive in time. | No report |
| OTX 72786 | Spokane, WA | No weather balloon data from this station reached the model for this cycle — either no launch happened or the data did not arrive in time. | No report |
| OTZ 70133 | Kotzebue, Ralph Wien, AK | The station reported status code 10159. NWS does not publish a public legend for these codes, so we will not guess at what it means — it signals some problem with the launch or the data. unrecognised status code 10159 | 10159 |
| BET 70219 | Bethel/Bethel Airport, AK | The station reported status code 10159. NWS does not publish a public legend for these codes, so we will not guess at what it means — it signals some problem with the launch or the data. unrecognised status code 10159 | 10159 |
| SNP 70308 | St. Paul Islands, AK | The station reported status code 10159. NWS does not publish a public legend for these codes, so we will not guess at what it means — it signals some problem with the launch or the data. unrecognised status code 10159 | 10159 |
| FWD 72249 | Fort Worth, TX | The station reported status code 10148. NWS does not publish a public legend for these codes, so we will not guess at what it means — it signals some problem with the launch or the data. unrecognised status code 10148 | 10148...Ascent not authorized for this period |
| TWC 72274 | Tucson, AZ | The station reported status code 10159. NWS does not publish a public legend for these codes, so we will not guess at what it means — it signals some problem with the launch or the data. unrecognised status code 10159 | 10159 |
| SLE 72694 | Salem/Mcnary, OR | The station reported status code 10159. NWS does not publish a public legend for these codes, so we will not guess at what it means — it signals some problem with the launch or the data. unrecognised status code 10159 | 10159 |
| GCM 78384 | Owen Roberts Airport Grand Cay · Cayman Islands | Ground equipment failure — the station’s tracking/receiving equipment was down, so no usable sounding was produced. | 10142...Ground equipment failure |
| TOP 72456 | Topeka/Municipal, KS | The balloon burst early. It stopped reporting at 615 mb, so this sounding only covers the lower part of the atmosphere — forecasters and models got no data above roughly 4 km (13,000 ft). (615 mb ≈ 4 km (13,000 ft)) | Short to 615mb |
| YAP 91413 | Yap/Caroline Is · Micronesia | The station reported, but part of the sounding transmission was missing — specifically TTAA, the mandatory-levels section that carries the standard pressure levels up to 100 mb. The GFS run still got a usable report from this station. | Missing Part TTAA and TTBB for the NAM...Full report in for the GFS |
| CRP 72251 | Corpus Christi/Intl, TX | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: temps/moisture from 768-755 mb...wet bulb effect. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged temps/moisture from 768-755 mb...wet bulb effect |
Show the original message
Exactly as NWS transmitted it. Everything above is our plain-English reading of this text — if the two ever disagree, this is the authoritative version.
000
NOUS42 KWNO 020308
ADMSDM
SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE
NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD
0307Z FRI OCT 02 2026
00Z NWS model production is running on time with 11
Alaskan...27 Canadian...60 CONUS...14 Mexican...7
Caribbean...and 10 Pacific stations available for ingest.
UPDATED 00Z GFS RAOB RECAP...
70361/YAK - No report for the NAM...Full report in for the
GFS
70414/SYA - No report for the NAM...Full report in for the
GFS
72206/JAX - No report
72388/VEF - No report for the NAM...10159
72493/OAK - No report for the NAM...Full report in for the
GFS
72528/BUF - No report for the NAM...Full report in for the
GFS
72645/GRB - No report
72786/OTX - No report
70133/OTZ - 10159
70219/BET - 10159
70308/SNP - 10159
72249/FWD - 10148...Ascent not authorized for this period
72274/TWC - 10159
72694/SLE - 10159
78384/GCM - 10142...Ground equipment failure
72456/TOP - Short to 615mb
91413/YAP - Missing Part TTAA and TTBB for the NAM...Full
report in for the GFS
72251/CRP - Purged temps/moisture from 768-755 mb...wet bulb
effect
Kempisty/SDM/NCO